Thursday, June 26, 2008

'Me and Mommy' cards

Over the last few months, C and I have been creating home-made blank cards. We have a small suitcase full of scrap booking paper, embellishments, glue, tape, stickers and scissors that we take to the hospital so that we can set up production in my mom's room. C loves crafts and making cards helps to pass the time during these many visits.

This activity was a learning experience for me. I can be a perfectionist...so when it came to making cards, it was difficult at first for me to let C flourish in her own creations. I was concerned about wasting supplies, using items I needed, or making cards that would have no use. She got upset when I didn't use her ideas and I quickly realized that I had taken the fun out of the activity. I knew I needed to change. I gave her her own cards and paper and told her to do whatever she wanted. The speed with which she put together an orange card with metallic balloon and heart sequins and big green maple leaf gems on it, I was sure she'd complete all her cards before I finished even one. But over time, I saw her creativity and confidence grow as she moved from random designs to imitating my card designs to designing her own ideas. Here is a picture of the I'll-miss-you cards she created and gave to her friends on the last day of school. I was very impressed with them.


Here are some of the other cards we have created. C suggested the snowman as a card design. She drew a picture of a snowman, and then I cut out coloured paper to match the shapes she had drawn.



I told C that we needed a name for our card making company. I made a few suggestions, one being Mommy and Me. C said ..."How about 'Me and Mommy'". I know grammatically it's incorrect, but I liked it. So as a finishing touch we write 'Me and Mommy' on a small label and stick it to the back of each card.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Happy Father's Day

"Mommy, why did you choose to marry daddy?"

"Why are you asking? Do you think I should have married someone else?"

"No. I just want to know...why did you choose to marry daddy? Because you liked him?"

"Yes."

"I like him too. I think you made a good choice for a daddy!"

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

C's Zoo

C drew this picture in church on Sunday. This is the first picture I've seen her draw with this level of detail and I was quite impressed with how she sounded out the animal names. She has really progressed, over the last year, in drawing, colouring and writing/sounding out words.

I asked her who the 2 people were in the picture. I expected her to say "Daddy and me"...but instead I was told..."It's Rowan and me". This is a boy from daycare that she's told us she's going to marry.